Maine DOE continues efforts with Guiding Principles

In August, the Maine DOE convened 33 educators to collect input on draft progressions for each of the five Guiding Principles. The feedback from the two regional sessions will inform the refinement of the Guiding Principles progressions.

These progression frameworks are intended to inform instruction, support the development of assessments and rubrics, and guide understanding of possible student demonstrations of the Guiding Principles. The Department will release additional resources with the Guiding Principles progressions in October.

The development of the progressions was prompted by the Department’s 2013 effort to develop performance tasks aligned to the Guiding Principles. Educators involved in developing those performance tasks identified the need for common understanding of the Guiding Principles. Responding to this need, the Department partnered with the Education Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) to research and to describe progressions that reflect a combination of multiple skills at work in each of the Guiding Principles.

The statutory requirement to measure proficiency in the Guiding Principles have many educators asking for models of the Guiding Principles in practice as well as guidance regarding determining proficiency in the increasingly complex skills, behaviors, and mindsets embedded in the Guiding Principles. We hope these Guiding Principles Frameworks will provide an important resource to schools.

For more information, contact the Department’s Standards-Based Education Specialist Diana Doiron at diana.doiron@maine.gov or 624-6823. Information regarding proficiency-based learning and proficiency-based diplomas can be found at the Department’s Getting to Proficiency website.